Palace Hotel announces return of Pied Piper painting

After a boisterous outcry from the public following its removal, the Pied Piper of Hamelin will be returning to the Palace Hotel.

The painting by Maxfield Parrish, valued by the hotel at somewhere between $3 million and $5 million, had hung in the Pied Piper bar at the hotel almost continuously since it was commissioned in 1909.

Despite the fact that the painting is considered by many to be a cultural treasure, the hotel took it down in April and shipped it off to New York where it was slated to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

“It is no longer practical for the hotel to display an original work of this value and cultural significance in a public area,” the hotel’s owners, Kyo-ya Hotels and Resorts, said in an April statement.

But San Franciscans were having none of that.

After a call from the mayor, criticism from art historians and a petition that garnered more than 1,200 signatures, the hotel has changed its tune.

“The response from the public was influential in the decision to keep the painting at the Palace Hotel,” said Christophe Thomas, General Manager of the Palace Hotel. “We are thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Pied Piper to its historic home.”

The Pied Piper spent its downtime in New York receiving an extensive restoration, removing what conservators called a “thick layer of superficial grime,” which accumulated on the painting after hanging in a smoky bar for more than 100 years.

The official unveiling of the Pied Piper of Hamelin will be in the Pied Piper Bar at 6 p.m. on August 22.

The hotel will be offering a number of special packages to celebrate its return, including a special menu, hand-blown glass ornaments and special cocktails served in fluted glasses, a nod to the Piper’s instrument of choice.